1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed invention is a lockable rack for storing, transporting and securing lawn equipment including, without limitation, grass trimmers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People engaged in the lawn care business must transport lawn equipment from the business location to customer locations and from customer location to customer location. Lawn service companies will often transport the lawn equipment in trucks, vans or trailers. One of the essential pieces of equipment used by lawn care companies is a grass and weed cutting tool known as a grass trimmer or xe2x80x9cweed eater.xe2x80x9d
The grass trimmer and other elongated pieces of equipment pose unique storage, transportation and security problems for the lawn care company. Such equipment in general, and the grass trimmer in particular, are difficult to secure, are easily damaged, and can leak gas or oil. The owner has a legitimate interest in decreasing the damage to the equipment, eliminating the loss of gasoline or oil during transportation and preventing theft of the equipment. The public would benefit from a lockable rack capable of mounting in a trailer, truck or van on which grass trimmers can be secured.
The prior art discloses many variations of lawn equipment racks having a number of purposes. Examples are shown in the following U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,358 (Hafendorfer, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,339 (Bellis); U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,781 (Puglisi); U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,280 (Bermes); U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,842 B1 (Fitzgerald); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,489 (Bellis).
The disclosed invention has a plurality of hooks to fit the shape of the grass trimmer handle and shaft. The hooks may have differing diameters to accommodate the differing diameters of the respective ends of the grass trimmer. In the disclosed invention, the hooks are welded to the inner frame and outer frame thereby eliminating any possibility that someone can dismantle the trimmer rack. The disclosed invention""s locking mechanism may hold the rack open for easy removal and replacement of the grass trimmer. The disclosed invention holds securely both ends of the grass trimmer thereby securing the grass trimmer for transport and preventing theft.
The following non-exhaustive discussion describes some of the problems solved by the disclosed invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,358 uses springs and straight pins to hold the lawn equipment into place for transportation only. This mechanism in Patent ""358 has no obvious protection against theft. Patent ""358 only has hooks on one side and uses a flat steel locking pin. Patent ""358 does not secure the equipment as well as the disclosed invention. Patent ""358 also requires several motions to lock the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,489 has a locking mechanism, but its locking mechanism secures only one end of the grass trimmer. The disclosed invention locks both ends of the grass trimmer in place. Patent ""489 also requires several motions to lock and unlock the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,842,B has a separate handle to lock and unlock the trimmer rack with a variety of stops and pins located at the bottom of the rack. The hooks in patent ""842,B are made of flat steel and the locking pins are straight cylindrical steel. The disclosed invention""s hooks are made of round steel on the top and the bottom, which better secure the grass trimmer.
The disclosed invention also possesses other novel and nonobvious features as described below. It is important that the owner or operator can open and close the rack easily and preferably with one hand. It is also beneficial if the rack can be locked to prevent damage to or theft of the grass trimmer.
The disclosed invention provides a lockable rack for grass trimmers that can be installed on a trailer, truck, van or elsewhere. The disclosed invention may be opened and closed with one hand. The disclosed invention provides a sturdy and durable rack that can secure several grass trimmers. One of the prime benefits of the disclosed invention is that it has one simple security feature that secures both ends of the grass trimmers thereby preventing damage and theft.